Matt Reeves Says His Batman Movie Will Be a ‘Noir Batman Tale’

It’s still not entirely clear if Ben Affleck will actually star in the movie, or whether it will be officially connected to the DC Extended Universe or not, but Matt Reeves is still hard at work on his Batman movie, which is tentatively titled The Batman. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he revealed his take on the character, which he promises is different than every previous film version of the Dark Knight.

According to Reeves, fans can expect a “a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale” that explores the brainy side of Batman in a way no one else has before. Quoth Reeves:

It's more Batman in his detective mode than we've seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He's supposed to be the world's greatest detective, and that's not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I'd love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it's going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation.

Reeves is correct that Batman is typically much brainier in the comics than he is in the films. Even the good Batman movies have mostly avoided his work as a detective in favor of his work as a dude who punches guys dressed like penguins and playing cards in the face. Which is cool, too! But Batman contains multitudes. And this would be one way to do something fresh with the character, at least onscreen.

The Batman doesn’t have an official release date, but Reeves told THR he thinks it could be sometime in 2021. That sounds like the distant future, but it’s only two years away.